1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a fluid-containing, conducting or distributing device that effectively prevents any leakage. More particularly, the present invention relates to a junction assembly with double-containment and immediate detection of seal failure or leakage.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the semiconductor manufacturing industry, many hazardous fluids are used and must be carefully handled to prevent damage to equipment and injury to both the environment and production employees. Furthermore, these fluids must be kept as pure as possible during all aspects of the handling and supply, since any contact of the flow stream with a contaminant may result in defects in the manufactured products. These defects are usually not detected until after the manufacturing operation has been completed.
During the manufacturing process, certain fluids must be distributed to various locations in precise amounts. To this end, the industry has used gas panels, which comprise bases on which a plurality of valves and mask flow controllers are mounted. The fluid flows through and among these devices by way of external conduits. However, these external conduits require numerous junctions, which means further opportunities for leakage. Moreover, in order to ensure proper flow through the system, the internal bores of these conduits must have an extremely smooth surface without any pits or protrusions. Any of these defects may act as a barrier to retain some of the fluid within the system, even if the system is purged. To ensure the smoothness of the internal bore, the bores normally are electro-polished and then visibly inspected with an endoscope to confirm the smoothness. This leads to an increase in cost of the gas panels.
Fluid passages have been bored in metal plates, which can resolve the problem of fluid leaking through the walls of the bores. However, the shapes of the bores are generally limited to configurations that can be machined into the plate, i.e., straight bores. Further, even if these bores are polished, they also must be inspected with an endoscope, which leads to an increase in the cost.